//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Broken Clock // by ThatGirl2147 //------------------------------// “Here’s the engine you commissioned, Sir.” Rosy Rivet rolled a steam engine out to the floor on a cart to Merchant Marine, a faded blue Earth Stallion with a gray mane, tail, and beard. “We can deliver it to the marina for you.” “That would be excellent,” replied the stallion with a smile. He produced a pocketbook and pen from his saddlebag and filled it out. “Here you are,” said he as he placed the cheque on the counter. “Three thousand, five hundred and fifty bits, as agreed upon.” Rhyme Buster placed the piece of paper in the cash register. “Thank you for your Patronage, Mr. Marine,” said he gratefully. Rosy looked to Rhyme. “I’ll bring the carriage round, and we’ll load it up and get moving.” Rhyme nodded as the green mare trotted out of the store. The pair loaded the engine onto the cart and were on their way to their destination, Bittsburgh Marina, with the buyer leading the way. “Say, Rosy,” said Rhyme as the pair trotted. “This has been a real productive week with you around. I’m gonna talk with Big Boss B about gettin’ you on full-time.” Rosy looked at Rhyme, her face beaming a large smile. “Really?” said she in disbelief. “That’s great! You won’t be sorry!” The three ponies soon arrived at the marina. Boats of all shapes and sizes occupied the docks, and many were out on the lake. The ponies made their way to a boat shed on the foot of the lake. “I’ll get the door,” said the blue stallion. He unlocked the large garage door and pulled it open, revealing an empty dry dock, save several tools and a stack of lumber. “Nice place you got here,” commented Rhyme Buster. “But where’s your boat?” Merchant tapped his hoof on the stack of wood. “Right here.” said he with a smile. “I’m going to build the boat around the engine, right here in dry dock.” The tan stallion nodded. “Lofty choice of action, but a pretty solid plan.” He and Rosy then placed the engine where Merchant Marine directed, bid him farewell, and headed back to the shop. The floor of the shop was empty. “I’ll go check on Heart if you can watch the counter,” said Rosy to Rhyme as she trotted through the steel door. In the workshop, Broken Heart sat, working on a large pile of watches. “Glad you’re here,” stated he, not looking up from his work. “We got 27 different orders for watches, and then we have to go to the train yard and upgrade an old steam engine.” “Train yard?” questioned Rosy with a raised brow. “Doesn’t the train yard have engineers that can do all that stuff?” Heart shrugged. “Apparently they aren’t up to par on modern steam power,” answered he. “So, we need to go up there and educate them.” He then picked up a partially-assembled watch. “In the meantime,” continued he, “we should get these done.” Rosy nodded. The pair worked in silence for several hours, the only sounds in the room being their tools on the metal, and one ticking clock, each stroke amplifying in volume in Rosy’s ears. “Is one of these things on?” asked she, mildly frustrated. Heart shook his head. “I didn’t wind any of them,” said he without looking up. “Well, do you have a watch or something?” As Rosy finished her sentence, Broken Heart slammed a hoof against the steel table, causing everything on it to jump, along with Rosy. He threw off his leather coat, revealing a freshly stitched scar over his chest. He took a small blade and cut the stitches and pulled the scar open with his hooves, the ticking getting louder as he did so. Underneath, where his sternum would be was instead a brass plate with screws on either side. “Take a good, long look!“ screamed he. “I got sick, and now I’m a monster! A heartless machine!” The green mare stood in shock for a few seconds. She shook her head rapidly to shake off nausea. “A mechanical heart?” asked she as she observed the brass piece. “That’s brilliant!” She walked around the table to get a closer look. “Who put it in?” “It doesn’t matter,” answered the gray stallion. “It’s late; you should go home and get some sleep.” “Don’t you need help with that?” Rosy pointed at the stallion’s open wound. Heart shook his head. “I can handle it; I’ve handled it for years. Go on; get out of here.” The following morning, Rosy Rivet awoke in her bed. Her room was a drab tan colour. She pushed her mane out of her eyes as she looked about her room. Beside her bed was a box of books, and near her window was a stereo, a stack of records, and headphones. She got out of her bed and walked to a small wooden vanity next to her closet. She tied her mane behind her head with a black band, and donned her gray dew rag. She put on her saddlebags and then walked out into the main room. The living room was the same colour as Rosy’s bedroom, but much larger and more sparsely occupied. A small couch stood in the centre of the room with an end table on either side, one of which held a radio. Four doors covered the walls, and the kitchen was connected to the living room by a small wall. On the sofa sat a lavender Earth Mare with a short, straight, blue mane with a few gray streaks. Her eyes were a deep magenta colour, and she sat resting her head on her hoof, listening to classic rock on the radio. “Morning, Mom!” greeted Rosy with a smile. “Want some breakfast before I head out to work?” The mare turned to Rosy. “Oh, no, thank you,” replied she a tired, soprano voice. “I’m just going to pick up some coffee on my way to work. You can make something if you want, though.” Rosy shook her head. “I’m not too hungry; just wondering if you were.” She then walked out the main door, saying as she left, “I’ll see you later!” The walk to Tick Tock Teck was short, and Rosy arrived in less than half an hour. Rhyme Buster stood outside the shop, rapping to a small crowd of ponies. “Tick Tock Teck is the place to go,” rapped he, “when you aren’t too sure, but you want to know. ‘Bout technology that is, common or unique. This place is modern science, at its current peak.” A couple Unicorn Stallions decided to walk into the shop. Rhyme led them in, singing to them all the while. “Come right in, I’ll show you around. Best deals, best tech, best in town.” Rhyme finished talking to the ponies and then greeted Rosy. “What’s good, Rosy?” “Just about everything,” replied Rosy. “Say, is Heart here?” The tan stallion shook his head. “Left for the train yard ‘bout half an hour ago. Told me to tell you to join him soon as you could.” Rosy nodded, and then turned towards to door, but stopped before she left. “Before I go,” said she, turning to face Rhyme, “I just wanted to say that I had the weirdest dream about Heart last night.” She then continued, “Well, I was here working in the middle of the night with him, and there was this loud ticking noise, like from a big clock. I asked about it, and he just ripped open his own chest and revealed some kind of mechanical heart.” Rhyme nodded as she spoke. “Weird dream, huh?” “Weird indeed,” replied the stallion, “but not a dream.” Rosy turned her head in confusion. “I came in early this morning, and he told me that exact story.” Rosy’s eyes went wide. “So his metal heart’s real?!” questioned she, completely aghast. “Real as you and me,” replied Rhyme. “Well what happened?” Rosy’s question caused the Unicorn to shrug. “All’s I know’s what he told me, and what he told me was that when he was younger, he came down with some crazy serious heart disease. His death was assured until he, being the tech whiz he is, came up with that device to replace his failing heart. That may or may not be all to the story, but it’s all I know.” The mare nodded, musing out loud. “I see. That’s horrible, but cool at the same time.” She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Uh, I should get going, help him out at the train yard. See you later, Rhyme!” With that, she was out the door. Rosy arrived at the train yard in little over twenty minutes. The tracks led into a massive warehouse, where the sound of welding and other tools drowned out most other noises. The mare entered the warehouse and saw Broken Heart in a small room with two other ponies in hard hats, all of whom stood around a table covered with blueprints. Rosy entered the room, and was greeted by the ponies. “Rosy; good to see you,” greeted Heart. “Come over here; go over the plans with us.” After a few minutes, Rosy understood the project fully. “Right,” said she, observing the blueprints. “Should I grab a welder and get to work?” One of the other ponies led her out to the train engine and gave her a rivet gun. “Know how to use one of these?”